


Homecoming Pleasures

by DesertVixen



Category: The Fall of Atlantis | Timaeus - Plato (Dialogue)
Genre: Gen, Implied F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-04
Updated: 2015-05-04
Packaged: 2018-03-28 23:13:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,718
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3873475
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DesertVixen/pseuds/DesertVixen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Homecoming on Atlantis</p>
            </blockquote>





	Homecoming Pleasures

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Sunchales](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sunchales/gifts).



The young woman stood on the deck, drawing her heavy gray cloak closely around her as the wind blew her long dark hair away from her face. The early morning air was chilly, but Elenika was impatient for her first glimpse of home, after all the days they had spent away.

Atlantis.

Elenika longed to see the sun rise over the temple’s lighthouse, and see it she would. The sails had been struck, as the ship’s captain would not approach the harbor until the day was full-born, in order to ease navigation through the submerged obstacles that guarded the harbor and Atlantis’ secrets. For now, she was content to stand on the deck and watch as the nearly-purple twilight began to gradually lighten, as the sun began rising from the Ocean Mother’s embrace to begin another day’s course across the sky.

Tonight, she hoped she would be able to watch from the temple roof as the sun dove back into the water to release the night. It was one of many moments that she had dreamed about since their ship had left Atlantis.

Their mission of diplomacy and exploration had left when Atlantis was in its fully ripe summer glory, its orchards and fields heavy with the fruit of the harvest to come. They had been given the best of the early harvest to make up their ship’s stores, as well as a wealth of preserved foods, but Elenika admitted it would be a pure pleasure to sit down at the table and feast on anything she desired, to drink the sweet wines the island produced, to revel in the pleasures of home.

Atlantis should be wearing the full bloom of spring to welcome them home, Elenika thought with a smile, looking forward to sitting under trees loaded with fragrant blossoms. She hoped the winter had been kind to their homeland.

“What are your thoughts?”

Elenika turned to see the ship’s captain, Adran, behind her. Their mothers had been sisters, and the two of them had grown up together. When Adran had been selected as the captain who would command the exploratory vessel heading north of Atlantis, it had only been natural that Elenika would accompany the vessel, in both her religious and diplomatic roles.

“I was just thinking how good it will be to be home,” she replied.

“As much as I enjoy the open sea, it will be pleasant to be home,” Adran agreed. “Even if we are not home for long,” he said after a long moment.  


Elenika sighed. “Must you remind me?”

They would be required to make another voyage , depending on how the Atlantis council saw the information they had gathered on the strange northern island.

Adran touched her shoulder. “We will celebrate tonight, and leave future worries for another time.”

Elenika nodded. She was looking forward to the celebratory feast that would follow their purification ceremony, looking forward to worshipping the Ocean Mother with other women again.

Adran, Elenika, and the navigator, Xandros, all claimed the Ocean Mother, Nereia, as their patron. For the two men it was expected, as many mariners worshipped the Mother in the hopes that she would protect them from the harmful things that dwelled within her depths. 

Elenika’s own devotion stemmed from her family background, as she was the daughter of a line of sailors. Nereia’s cult was one of the few that gave women a chance to leave Atlantis, and as much as she had missed home, Elenika would be the first to admit that she had enjoyed the voyage. 

*** *** ***

The ceremony of purification had to be completed before they could leave the harbor area and enter the temple.

The purification chamber could only be entered when the tide was out, as the entrance was otherwise submerged. It was a deep cave that had been enlarged by Atlanteans over the centuries. A second entrance into the cave let out onto a high ledge, far above the damp sandy floor. Those who required purification were to make an offering to Nereia, then await the arrival of the tide. If they could survive in the water until they reached the level of the ledge, they were considered clean again, and would be welcomed into the temple for a feast.

The three of them had brought wine and salt, driftwood and dried flowers. Xandros added some dried fish they had caught in a northern harbor. The final touch was a lock of hair from each person. Elenika poured out the libation and sang a hymn to Nereia, while Adran set the other offerings alight. Then they waited in contemplative silence.

The water began to come in, soaking into the sand and swirling about their feet, until a rush of water filled the space. Elenika waited for the water to rise over her head, her unbound hair swirling about her, until she was wrapped in the Ocean Mother’s embrace. She had no fear of the ceremony, as she trusted in the goddess to protect her. When she could barely hold her breath any longer, she began to swim steadily with the water, until she broke through the surface. Elenika could feel the fish who swam around her, even if she could not see their silver-scale loveliness. She could feel thin tentacles wrapping around one of her ankles, and knew that one of Nereia’s small sea-spiders was clinging to her.

There were acolytes of Nereia waiting for them on the ledge, to assist the participants onto the ledge. Elenika allowed them to pull her up, then bent to unwind the creature’s tentacles from about her leg. It had a beauty of its own in the light from torches. The creature’s cool, damp skin was a dark purple with an iridescent sheen, much like the cloak Nereia’s High Priestess wore for festivals, and its slender tentacles tried to wrap around her wrist. She knelt by the edge, and touched her lips briefly to the creature.

“Send our greetings and gratitude to the Ocean Mother,” Elenika said softly as she released the small creature back into the water. There were much larger, much more dangerous ones in the ocean, she knew. She had seen their shadowy forms lurking in the depths, and Atlantean sailors told stories of ones large enough to destroy ships. Nereia sent them forth to punish those who dared disrespect her.

Elenika could taste the salt on her lips from the water, and knew that her thin gown clung to her body from the water. She could feel the small puddle that was forming around her, and was grateful when the acolytes ushered them forward.

They were truly home.

*** ***

Now that they were purified, they would be given a chance to bathe and luxuriate before the feast to welcome them home. Elenika went to the women’s quarters in Nereia’s temple, where female servants were preparing a hot bath in her own rooms. 

When the wooden tub was full of steaming hot water and they had helped her disrobe, Elenika dismissed the servants and sank into the hot water, breathing in the scent of her favorite herbs that had been liberally sprinkled in the water. She had missed this luxury, as it was simply not possible to have a proper hot bath on board the ship. 

Elenika lay back in the water with her eyes closed, dreamily contemplating the idea of the feast later that evening. When another pair of lips pressed against hers, her eyes flew open, and she dimly heard water slosh over the side of the tub. “Palla!”

The naked woman who leaned over her grinned. “I’ve missed you,” she whispered, then kissed her again. This time Elenika’s lips parted as she gave herself up to the kiss, feeling the other woman’s soft hand stroke along her leg. She had missed the other woman’s knowing hands, and the memory of their past pleasures had kept her company on the many lonely nights Elenika had spent away from her home.

“You taste of her salt,” Palla murmured. It was a traditional lover’s endearment for worshippers of Nereia, one that Elenika had missed hearing.

“I would rather taste yours,” she said softly. “Join me?”

*** *** ***

Later, dressed in a sea-green festival gown, with her hair neatly braided and arranged around her head, Elenika took her seat at the head table. Adran was there as well, with his wife Anissa, both arrayed in their best dark blue outfits. She saw Palla among the women who would serve the meal, and smiled to herself, thinking how very relaxing a nice bath could be.

Then, after the High Priestess made a brief address in their honor, the platters began coming, full of ripe fruits and vegetables, whole fresh steamed fish and other delicacies from the sea, potent sweet wines and delicate cakes that crumbled if one held them too long, sweet honey and rich cream, dishes of cooked grains and herbs, briny preserved olives – all the things she had dreamed of during the months of eating dried fish and preserved foods.

They had carried olives, of course, and the citrus fruits that helped keep sailors healthy, but there was such a difference between what they could carry on the ship and the best that Atlantis had to offer. A feast like this almost made up for the deprivation, and Elenika ate until she was certain she could not eat another bite.

When the feast was over, Elenika made her way to the stairs that gave way to the temple roof. She was the only one up there, the only one to watch as the rich colors of sunset gave way to the velvety blue of evening, as the night flooded across the sky and the sun was embraced by the mother.

Tomorrow, there would be discussions with the Atlantean elders, as Adran and Elenika gave their reports and answered questions, when they showed off the strange items they had brought back from the northern island. It was all too possible that they would indeed send them back to that island with one of the island’s princesses to marry the son of the ruler, and that Elenika would have to bid all that she loved farewell, even if only for a short while.

Tonight, however, Elenika intended to simply enjoy the pleasure of being home.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed this! I was shooting for sort of a generic proto-Greek feel, and am going with the idea that Atlantis is located outside the Pillars of Hercules, and the "strange northern island" is intended to be Britain.


End file.
